Chapter 2
Emma
Present Day
The fall sun kisses my face as I make my way down Main Street. A light breeze toys with the strands of hair that escaped from the braid I put it in this morning, and overhead, birds soar through the cloudless sky.
Man, it’s so beautiful outside today. Such an absolutely lovely day to be alive. Reaching up, I gently touch the cross around my neck. Thank You, Lord, for this day. It truly is a gift.
Smiling, I let my hand drop as I head up the walk toward the diner. Lunch is calling me. Has been for hours—since I skipped breakfast. But I had a goal—and now that goal is met. My reward? Food.
Delicious food.
The door is propped open, and I can smell fresh apple pie before I’ve even fully entered. I don’t know that I’ve ever been more grateful that I already got my run in this morning. Because that means two slices of Talia’s delicious pie for me today. One for after lunch, the other for dinner.
“Good morning, Emma,” Talia greets as I step inside. Her slightly graying hair is pulled back in a high ponytail, just as it always is whenever she’s working. “I’ll be right with you.”
“No rush at all.” I beam at her, then take a seat on one of the orange barstools at the counter before pulling out my list and marking off the last errand I finished. Check on bounce houses. Check! It’s only just now lunchtime, and I’ve already made an impressive dent in today’s to-do list.
It’s been a great day.
“What can I get for you today, lovely?” Talia asks as she sets some wrapped silverware in front of me.
“Chai tea and a grilled chicken salad, please, ma’am. And two slices of apple pie to-go.”
“You got it. We still on for your thirty-sixth birthday dinner tomorrow night?”
I wince. “You just had to remind me.”
She laughs. “Thirty-six is the new twenty.”
I laugh, though inside, my heart aches. I wanted to be married with kids by the time I was thirty. And now—who knows if that will ever happen. “I’ll be there,” I reply, forcing a smile. “My mouth is already watering.”
“Good.” With a smile, Talia heads into the kitchen, leaving me to glance around the diner to see who else is currently grabbing lunch. Sheriff Gibson is in a booth with his mother, both of them laughing happily as they enjoy their lunch. I offer him a wave when he glances in my direction.
Then there’s Kennedy Hunt’s parents, who both offer me kind smiles as they make their way up to the counter to pay their tab, alongside Alice Hunt’s parents.
They’re relatively new to town, their daughters having married two of the five Hunt brothers.
According to Lani, they bonded shortly after Alice’s parents relocated here last year.
I’ve lived in Pine Creek my entire life—well, almost my entire life. I was born in Massachusetts but was placed up for adoption when I was only a baby, and the couple who adopted me moved back here, where they both grew up.
I was nine months old when we came to Pine Creek.
For all intents and purposes, this place has been my home my entire life.
I know everyone, and they know me. We all support each other, which I was certainly grateful for after my parents’ accident thirteen years ago.
I was barely eighteen when I lost them. But I had a town to rally around me.
An entire family of people who made sure I didn’t lose myself too.
That familiar knot of grief wells up inside of me, and I have to actively fight it back down.
It was a season of grief and pain. One thing after another for three years after I lost them.
God is the only reason I survived, and I believe wholeheartedly He guided the town to close in around me so I didn’t feel so alone.
“Here you go, honey.” Talia sets a mug down in front of me, the hot water already turning a pale brown, thanks to the bag of fresh spices steeping inside. “Food will be up in a moment.”
“Great. Thanks.” As she steps away, I slide my list back into my purse, then withdraw my latest read—a swoony romance about two people who survive a plane crash and end up marooned on an island. Rivals to romance—my favorite.
There’s just something about that moment when they finally realize that everything they’ve been fighting against is everything they need.
If only things worked like that in real life. An all-too-familiar face swims into the front of my memory, but I bat it back down.
No. There’s no time for shattered dreams and broken hearts right now.
This has been a good day, and it will continue to be a good day.
As I focus on the words printed across the pages, I completely tune out the world around me, letting myself be fully engulfed in the story, the characters, the everything.
Here, I can block out all of my own problems and watch as the characters solve theirs.
Here, things are easy. A safe formula I can count on.
Girl meets boy.
Chaos ensues.
Boy chooses girl over everything.
There is no life after the happily-ever-after, where things can still fall apart.
No broken promises.
“Hey there, bookworm.”
I jolt a bit, then turn and smile at Riley Hunt as he slides onto the stool beside me. The third oldest, Riley has always been a bit more laid-back than the rest of his brothers. Not that they’re overly serious…well, Tucker’s not.
His dark hair is a mess as though he’s been running his hands through it all day, and he’s wearing his ranch clothes, which means he’s been out working rather than running errands. Not surprising—the Hunts are hard workers and the first to lend a hand if things go sideways.
“Hey yourself, Mr. Hunt. No Romeo?” I ask, noting that his service dog, an adorable German shepherd named Romeo, is nowhere to be seen.
“Nah, he’s with Jules today. She’s meeting with one of her charges, and the girl loves dogs. She’s hoping he’ll help her open up a bit, and I know he’ll keep my wife safe. Win-win all the way around.”
After suffering trauma no one should have to go through, Jules turned her pain into strength and now spends quite a bit of time in Dallas at the center for Find Me, a company that rescues trafficking victims from all over the world.
Frank Loyotta, who runs Find Me, occasionally calls in outside help for particularly hard cases.
All five of the Hunt brothers have been called in on more than one occasion to aid in rescue missions since they run their own search and rescue company.
And now, Jules is the one who helps these victims transition back into whatever normalcy they can find. Because she’s been through it too.
“It’s so great that she’s doing that.”
“She loves it.” His pride shines all over his face.
“I’m glad.” I beam at him, then look at the book he set on the counter in front of him. “What did you bring today?”
“A thriller. You?”
“Romance.” I hold mine up. “You know me.”
He laughs. “That, I do.”
I practically grew up alongside the Hunt family. First, it started out with me being friends with the youngest of the Hunts—Lani. We bonded over both being adopted and became friends despite the one-year age gap between us.
Then I met Dylan. And my entire world shifted. If only it would shift back.
“Riley. What can I get for you?” Talia asks, her friendly smile always warm and inviting.
“A burger and fries for me, a club sandwich with extra crispy bacon and a bag of potato chips for my dad, and another burger with no mayo and a side of onion rings, to-go, please.” He doesn’t add in who the last burger is for, and he doesn’t have to.
I know that Dylan prefers onion rings to fries, and he hates mayonnaise.
The Independence Day parade picnic cemented that when the potato salad got left out too long and he got sick to his stomach.
“You got it.” After making a note on her pad, she heads back into the kitchen.
“How are things going out at the ranch?” I ask, hoping he doesn’t know what I’m really asking. How’s Dylan? Has he decided he misses me as much as I miss him yet?
“Not too bad. Dad’s truck is on the fritz, and since Elliot is out of town for a mission, I’m on mechanic duty until he gets back.”
“I’m assuming Dylan is helping?” When he doesn’t answer right away, I dramatically roll my eyes. “His name isn’t a bad word, Riley. Since I happen to know he’s the only one of you who can’t stomach mayonnaise, I know he’s helping you.”
Riley shrugs. “Sorry, not sure where you stand.”
“Nowhere,” I reply. “We don’t stand anywhere, and that’s just fine by me.”
He gives me a side-eye, not sure he believes my words. “Yeah, he’s helping. If by helping, you mean humming every time he thinks I’m doing something wrong.”
Humming. Dylan has an excellent voice. One of the best out of all the brothers. There was a time when we thought he was going to go into music. Then he’d chosen the military, and everything went sideways.
“Well, he does like to make you crazy.”
“Yeah. We get blips where he’s himself, and even as annoyed as I used to get, I’m just glad to see a bit of his old self shine through.”
My heart aches. What I’d give to see that side of him again too. “Good. I’m glad to hear it.”
Because I genuinely can’t discuss Dylan anymore without completely losing it, I go back to reading, or at least pretending to read, and a few seconds later, Riley opens his book too.
Even as Lani and I have been friends for forever, and books are something Riley and I bonded over a long time ago, my real connection to the family lies with Dylan—the youngest of the brothers.
A man I’ve loved for as long as I can remember.
Pain blossoms in my heart, grief that just won’t go away, no matter how many years pass. No matter how many times he treats me like I mean nothing, I can’t let go of what we were.
I suppose that’s my burden to carry.
I pray constantly for God to take it away…to remove my feelings for Dylan, but so far, that particular prayer has not been answered. Someday, maybe, but not today.
“Here you go.” Talia slides the chicken salad in front of me, so I close my book and set it aside.
“Thank you.”